Chaucer's Canterbury Tales—witty, bawdy, zany, satirical, and literary. From the late medieval period on, Chaucer has been considered the "father of English poetry." Indeed, his Middle English verse electrified the day with its satire of English society. Writing in the later 14th century, he caused ripples with his bold move to write in the vernacular English instead of the expected literary Latin. With prophetic wisdom, he sensed the potential of English to absorb elements from many languages, making it the literary language of the future—opening the way for Shakespeare.
Michael Murphy's deft Reader-Friendly Edition presents Chaucer's original words put into modern spelling, thereby preserving the literal Chaucerian Middle English without the unnecessary obstacle of fourteenth century spelling. Enjoy these surprising tales told by a group of quirky medieval English pilgrims in a storytelling contest on their journey to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Volume includes Chaucer’s General Prologue, the Pardoner’s Tale, the Nun’s Priest’s Tale, and the Tale of the Franklin.
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